The largest exercise of its kind in the Arabian Gulf was aimed at detecting and clearing mines whereby ensuring that international trade routes remain open in one of the world's most important shipping lanes.

Photo: AFP

US Navy personnel captain the minecounter USS Ardent from the command deck some where in the Arabian Sea May 13, 2013, on the first day of the biggest mine countermeasures exercise in the Arabian Gulf. The US Navy along with other 40 nations are conducting the games. Photo: AFP

US navy officers monitor screens in the 'war room' of the USS Ponce, an Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB), as it cruises somewhere in the Arabian Sea. Photo: AFP

US Navy soldiers follow operations from the war room of mine counter USS Ardent (MCM-12) somewhere in the Arabian Sea on May 13, 2013. Photo: AFP

US Navy personnel on the deck of mine measure counter USS Ardent (MCM-12) lower an un-manned Marine Neutralizing Vehicle (MNV) into the sea to neutralise a presumed mine located on the seabed some where in the Arabian Sea. Photo: AFP

US Navy soldiers speak to press on deck of USS Firebolt at Bahrain's Salman port, in the capital Manama, on May 12, 2013 one day before the start of the biggest exercise of mine countermeasure manoeuvres in the Arabian Gulf. Photo: AFP

A US navy crew stands guard close as a blackhawk navy helicopter sits on the deck of USS Ponce, an Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB), somewhere in the Arabian. Photo: AFP

The largest exercise of its kind in the Arabian Gulf was aimed at detecting and clearing mines whereby ensuring that international trade routes remain open in one of the world's most important shipping lanes.